1966 #10. Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann - YouTube 1966 #10. Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 7, 2015 "Pretty Flamingo" is a song written by Mark Barkan, which became a hit in 1966 when Manfred Mann's recording of it was released as a single. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 5 May 1966. Manfred Mann's recording was a minor hit in the United States where it spent eight weeks on Billboard 's Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 29 during the week of 6 August 1966. It was also successful in Ireland, and was number one there for four weeks, keeping the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" at number two.

The speaker describes a woman—whom "all of the guys call 'Flamingo', 'cause her hair glows like the sun and her eyes can light the sky"—for whom the singer has fallen, and his plans to win her affection. The recording features future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965. On their Top of the Pops appearance Paul Jones performed whilst standing on one leg. The song has been covered by such notable artists as Baltimore R&B singer Tommy Vann (released in June 1966 -- however some sources claim it was recorded in 1964, which would predate Mann's version), Gene Pitney, Tommy Roe, The Everly Brothers, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello with Glenn Tilbrook, Chris Difford and Nick Lowe, Rolf Harris, Bruce Springsteen, Elbow, Dave Gregory of XTC, Broken Dolls, The Queers, Les McCann, The Sandpipers, Billy Strange with The Challengers and Paul Weller.

The original demo of the song was recorded by noted New York City vocalist Jimmy Radcliffe stylized for The Drifters, but songwriter Mark Barkan was dissatisfied with the overly produced results and had Radcliffe recut the song with a pared-down arrangement. The song was sung by Danny Dyer as Mick Carter in the 10 July 2014 episode of EastEnders. Mick sings it to his partner Linda, who has a fascination with flamingos. It is later revealed that they consider Pretty Flamingo to be their song. It has been played several times on the show since. Category nineteen sixty six nineteen sixty six a classic year in 365 songs Pages 1966: More popular than Jesus 1966 was one of the greatest, most transformative years in music history - and here are 365 songs that prove it. From London to Laurel Canyon, artists were creating all-time classic hits while redefining the possibilities of what popular music could sound like.

The established acts of the British Invasion were at the top of their game, including the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Dusty Springfield, the Yardbirds, Spencer Davies, Manfred Mann, the Hollies and the Animals. Across the ocean, California was exploding with the sounds of the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, the Monkees, Jefferson Airplane, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, and Love. This year also saw the emergence of the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, the Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa. Soul music was rarely better, with the Supremes, Four Tops, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Percy Sledge, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett all in the charts. Dylan was at the height of his creative powers, and even Sinatra had a #1 song. Aretha Franklin was on the cusp of stardom, a young David Bowie was cutting his first records, and Elvis released a steady flow of songs. Rarely was so much music royalty active at the same time.

All this was happening against a backdrop of military, social and generational conflict - not to mention increasingly open drug experimentation - and this fact was reflected in many songs of the time. So here are, day by day, 365 songs from that momentous year. Enjoy. Pretty Flamingo Vintage | My journey into all things kitsch. My journey into all things kitsch. by prettyflamingovintage Day 2 of the Blogging U ‘Blogging 101’ course, and we’ve been asked to consider our title and tag line. I’m not sure where my interest in flamingoes stems from really. The actual birds smell really bad, and as such I’ve never lingered long around them at family trips to the zoo. But to me, nothing says ‘kitsch’ quite like these pink feathered wonders of nature. And Manfred Mann had a hit with ‘Pretty Flamingo’ in 1966. So that’s where the ‘Pretty Flamingo Vintage’ title came from. The tag line ‘My journey into all things kitsch’ does exactly what it says on the tin. This is my journey, and I’m excited to see what kitsch delights await me.

I suppose I should introduce my new friend Paul (aka retro doll Cindy’s significant other), who currently lives in my guest cloakroom. In a bowl I made from an old vinyl record. Draped strategically in vintage plastic fruit. That’s kitsch for you right there, and I love it! And so the journey begins… by prettyflamingovintage After writing a blog in my previous job, I thought it was about time I started one for myself. So this is it. I live in a 1970s house, which I have been busy decorating for the last 10 months in a retro style. I’ve used bold colours, wallpapers, vintage furniture (some of which I’ve upcycled), and excellent finds in charity shops and the internet. My friends and family have mixed reactions to my sense of style, especially now that I am getting braver with my purchases and design ideas. But I love my quirky ornaments and decorations; who wouldn’t want a plastic flamingo in their guest WC?! Anyway, my career suddenly took a new direction in recent months and I am in the process of setting up a business with my brother.

We are creating an agency specialising in retro/kitsch entertainment for weddings and functions, along with vintage items to hire for events. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss (I’m older than my brother, so he doesn’t count as a boss), so now I get to combine my career with my love of all things kitsch! This blog is going to track my progress in the hunt for vintage items to hire, as well as anything exciting I get to purchase for my home (I’m going to call that bit ‘active research’). Maybe if I end up with a surplus of vintage items, I can start upcycling and selling it on Etsy? Time will tell. My first step in this new career path has been to complete a course in Social Media Marketing, which I found really rewarding and insightful, and gave me the perfect opportunity to spend more time on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into promoting our agency once the website is up and running. Watch this space. I came back from a family holiday today to two deliveries of items I’d purchased on eBay. A vintage flip pad address book, and two giant plastic flamingos.

The latter have proved to be one of those purchases that friends and family are struggling to get their head around. Just wait until they see what I’ve ordered from Hong Kong in a few weeks… I have a bit of a thing for rotary phones. I’ve just bought another one off eBay that I intend to upcycle. Once I’ve done a bit of research on Pinterest and Etsy of course! I hope to use it with my vintage telephone table at wedding fayres when we start to promote our business. Anyway, I’m looking forward to updating this blog, and also hope to set up a blog for the agency too. I know that it gets addictive… Search for: Manfred Mann - Pretty Flamingo - YouTube Manfred Mann - Pretty Flamingo Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 16, 2013 Written by Mark Barkan. A huge hit in the UK in 1966. Jack Bruce was a member of Manfred Mann at this time albeit very briefly.

Category Pretty Flamingo | The Immortal Jukebox The Immortal Jukebox A Blog about Music and Popular Culture Search 48 ‘In quella parte del libro de la mia memoria dinanzi a la quale poco is potrebbe leggere, si trova ina rubrica la quale dice: Incipit Vita Nova ……. In that first book which is my memory, on the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you, appear the words, ‘Here begins a new life.’ (Dante from Vita Nuovo) ‘Yonder comes my lady, rainbow ribbons in her hair …. Nobody, no, no, no, nobody stops me from loving you baby … And you were standing there in all your revelation! It’s too late to stop now!’ (Van Morrison, ‘Cyprus Avenue’) ‘Some sweet day I’ll make her mine, pretty flamingo Then every guy will envy me ‘Cause paradise is where I’ll be Pretty flamingo, pretty flamingo.’ Embed from Getty Images There really are moments when the course of your life is irrevocably altered. Moments when your history, your story, becomes divided into Before and After.

After such a defining moment you look at and experience the world around you as if it were an entirely fresh landscape glistening with new possibility. Epiphanies are lightning strikes to the dormant consciousness; quickening barely acknowledged dreams into blood pumping, temperature raising life. And, so often they occur without warning. One moment you’re a regular fellow shooting the breeze with the guys on the corner of the block and the next, the next, you’re a hopeless, helpless fool prepared to mortgage your entire future for this girl, no , The Girl … If you just could – if she just would, if she just would, if she just would! And, this can happen at any stage of your life. It might happen, as it did, for the 9 year old Dante Aligheri on first glimpsing the divine vision of the crimson robed 8 year Beatrice Portinari in a Florentine Palazzo. It might happen, as it did, for the teenaged Van Morrison obsessively haunting the tree lined avenue, so close and yet so far from his working class East Belfast home, as a rainbow-ribboned vision of beauty came into view.

It might happen, as it did for me, at 40 plus, in a worthy seminar about third world debt – suddenly realising that the woman I had just met was without any shadow of doubt the woman I must captivate because she was the woman I was going to marry, the woman I HAD to marry .. If I just could, if she just would. Mark Barkan, a jobbing Brill Building style songwriter, in early 1966 through some divine inspiration came up with a perfect pop song, ‘Pretty Flamingo’ which captures, as few pop songs have ever done, that moment of abandonment to the dream of finding the love of your life. The lovely image of the crimson coloured Flamingo, simultaneously familiar and exotic, brilliantly captures the sensual glamour of the beauty who, simply walking by, turns an ordinary day into a never to be forgotten one. The original and in some senses definitive version of the song was by the Manfred Mann group who took it all the way to Number 1 in the UK in May 1966. It went on quickly to become an anthemic world wide hit. This is a very 1960s beat group record brim full with youthful energy and vigour.

The brash guitar is loud and upfront as the song starts and remains powerful as it beats on throughout; perhaps portraying the rib pounding rhythm of the protagonist’s heart as he comes to terms with his new, captive, situation. The background wash of keyboards and the lovely woodwinds point to the escalating wonder and desire for one who seems so out of reach and out of sight. You can almost feel the sigh as she walks by with that crimson dress that clings so tight. Vocalist, Paul Jones, manages to capture the wonder and the longing of the situation as well as the bewilderment. I love the, ‘Huh!’ he inserts as he contemplates whether he really could and whether she really would! This incarnation of the Manfred Mann group had Manfred providing jazz chops on the Hammond Organ, Mike Hugg on drums, Jack Bruce (only very briefly a member) on bass and Tom McGuiness on guitar. I’m assuming that the gorgeous flute work was provided Mike Vickers who had only recently ceased to be in the band. The group had become a strong musical outfit through intensive gigging from from the very early 1960s.

They combined musicianly multi-instrumental prowess and a love of jazz, R&B and Soul music with a flair for picking top quality songs from the emerging titans of the American songwriting scene (Carol King, Greenwhich/Barry and the peerless Bob Dylan). I think you can hear their musical togetherness and attack in, ‘Pretty Flamingo’ reflecting their joy in music making and the thousands of road miles they had travelled together. Their version of, ‘Pretty Flamngo’ should always be in any representative collection of the finest 1960s pop. A song and a record like, ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was certain to light a flame in heart of would be tough but tender songwriters the world over. So it is no surprise that the 16 year old Bruce Springsteen, listening to his radio in Freehold, New Jersey should have been bowled over by the song and kept it bright in his memory in the ensuing decades as he progressed from a tyro writer and performer to a global superstar.

I would hazard a guess that along with the operatic arias of Roy Orbison the echo of the yearning of, ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was somewhere in the creative mix in Bruce’s mind as he wrote ‘Thunder Road’one of his indisputably classic songs. The magnificent opening of that song with the vision of Mary’s dress waving as she dances across the porch recalls for me the sashay of the Flamingo as she brightened up the neighbourhood and constricted the throats of every guy who wished she would let him be the Guy, not just one of the guys. The Guy who had made her his! Listen to Bruce’s live version of Flamingo from 2014. He performs the song solo, virtually acapella, and introduces the song with a meditation outlining how the song tells a story, a primal story, that’s always true and current. For men as long as they breathe will fall in love with a girl, the Girl, as she passes by your porch. He muses, sotto voce, as he begins to play the song that, ‘You’re always…. ‘.

I think we can take it that by this he means that we are all always hoping that this time, today, will be the moment when could and would miraculously coincide so that together you take up residence in the longed for paradise. Bruce, the mature twenty-first century Bruce, performs Flamingo with a wry romanticism that includes real erotic charge as well as an almost elegiac plangecy. It may be that has something to do with Bruce’s inevitable recognition that his days as one of the guys on the corner of the block are long past – no matter how fondly remembered. The consolations of such a realisation are however beautifully captured as Bruce’s own flamed haired beauty, his wife Patti Scialfa, joins him duetting at the microphone. Sometimes all your dreams of the sweet day when you make the Girl, the fabled Flamingo, your very own turns out to be more than a daydream. It turns out to be what you were living for before you knew what you were living for.

Notes: As the ornithologists among you will know the name Flamingo derives from the Iberian, ‘Flamengo’ (with the colour of flame) is a highly distinctive wading bird prone, eccentrically, to standing on one leg. The Flamingo, which can vary in colour from light pink to Dantesque Crimson, is in the genus Phoenicopterus from the family Phoenicopteridae. Don’t you just love the Greek language and Taxonomy! Manfred Mann: As a pop classic Flamingo has been covered innumerable times. The versions I recommend are: The Everly Brothers – an ineffably tender rendition from their 1966, ‘Two Yanks in England’ record. Elvis Costello – a rave-up version (powered by excellent drumming) where Elvis turns spa like Montreux into a sweaty simulacrum of 60s beat dives like Liverpool’s The Cavern or London’s The Marquee. He is joined by the brilliant songwriting team from Squeeze Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook along with his own mentor Nick Lowe. Their obvious collective pleasure, as hardened songwriting professionals, in playing such a glorious pop confection is a joy to behold.

Paul Weller – has recorded Flamingo acoustically and also performed a tremendously rousing live version where he shows how acute his ear for the merits of the 60s pop song has been since his emergence from the punk pack. Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic Pretty Flamingo google+ AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder Pretty Flamingo marked the end of an era for Manfred Mann , though few American listeners, relatively oblivious to the affairs of this most underrated of all major British Invasion bands, knew it -- Paul Jones was to leave soon after, as would Mike Vickers , a pair of events that would radically alter the group's sound and cause them to be abandoned by their label, EMI. But if it was a swansong for the original band, what a way to go, showing off just how subversive this band's American albums, in particular, were.

As was the custom here (as opposed to England), the producers put the group's current pop hit single on the LP as a lure to boost sales, but as with their other releases, the rest of the album is loaded up with hard R&B, soul, and blues, and delivered all of the music that white middle-class parents were scared to death their kids would hear. Jones was one of the best white soul shouters in England -- at his best, he sings like a god -- and in his final body of work for the group he goes out in superb style, appealing to decidedly older-than-teen listeners on the bluesy "Let's Go Get Stoned" and assuming a more ominous cast on "I Put a Spell on You." He then detours into Swinging London on the ebullient group original "It's Getting Late." He also, for a moment, sound uncannily like Sam Cooke on the album's soul version of "Tennessee Waltz." He doesn't let up on the Oscar Brown, Jr.

number "Driva Man," and closes on his own bluesy original "Did You Have to Do That." In this company, the title track, a catchy pop hit dominated by Jones ' voice, a flute, and a thick acoustic guitar, is almost the least interesting song on the album. Links The Band Between 1964 and 1979 Manfred Mann scored three British Number One hits – plus two more Number One hits in America plus another seven that went Top 5 and six more that made the Top 10. Over this period Manfred Mann’s bands featured some of the finest singers on the British pop and rock scene: Paul Jones, Mike d’Abo, Mick Rogers and Chris Thompson, all of whom have gone on to enjoy successful and varied solo careers. Their distinctive voices have all added to the rich variety of Manfred Mann’s classic hits. South African-born Manfred Lubowitz arrived in Britain in 1961. He was already an accomplished jazz pianist and quickly established himself on the London club circuit with drummer Mike Hug with whom he formed the Mann Hug Blues Brothers.

In 1963 the band was re-christened Manfred Mann and with a line-up featuring Paul Jones on vocals and harmonica, Mike Vickers on guitar, flute and saxophone, Tom McGuinness on bass and Hug they set their sights on the British pop scene which was about to explode. They may have been a musically well-educated band but there was nothing sophisticated about Manfred Mann’s first hit the rowdy, frenetic 5-4-3-2-1 that they wrote for the theme song of the groundbreaking TV pop show Ready Steady Go! Boosted by its weekly exposure on the programme the single reached Number 5 early in 1964. Manfred Mann had their first Number One in the summer of that year with Do Wah Diddy Diddy Diddy, written by the famous New York Brill Building song writing duo of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. They also found themselves in the vanguard of the British pop invasion of America alongside the Beatles and the Animals (and ahead of the Rolling Stones) as the song shot to the top of the US charts.

The band then proceeded to apply their sharp musical talents to other suitable pop songs such as Sha La La (an American hit for the Shirelles), the poignant Come Tomorrow and Oh No Not My Baby (written by another famous Brill Building duo, Carole King and Gerry Goffin) before turning their attention to Bob Dylan’s If You Gotta Go, Go Now that was a Number 2 hit in the UK and earned the approval of Dylan himself. In April 1966 Manfred Mann notched up their second British Number One with the gorgeous, melodic Pretty Flamingo. Surprisingly it only scraped into the American Top 30 but it left a lasting impression on a teenage Bruce Springsteen who regularly played it live during the early part of his career. Pretty Flamingo was the crowning glory for the first incarnation of Manfred Mann, not least for the personality-driven voice of Paul Jones who decided to bow out on a high note. He launched a solo career and starred in the movie Privilege – playing a rock star – before becoming one of Britain’s leading experts and commentators on the blues and R&B.

His departure put the group’s future in jeopardy but his replacement, the unknown public schoolboy Mike D’Abo immediately stamped his own character on the band and the hits flowed seamlessly on – Dylan’s Just Like A Woman, the quirky Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James and Ha! Ha! Said The Clown – before racking up their third UK Number One early in 1968 with Dylan’s Mighty Quinn, an anthemic masterpiece that astonishingly Dylan never released himself. As the Sixties drew to a close Manfred and Mike Hug decided to explore new musical directions and after more Top Ten hits with My Name Is Jack, Fox On The Run and Ragamuffin Man, they disbanded Manfred Mann. The other members soon found new careers in other bands (Tom McGuiness formed McGuinness Flint) or in production. Mike D’Abo was already an accomplished songwriter. Manfred and Mike Hug meanwhile embarked on a brief “anti-pop” career with the self-explanatory Chapter Three, a jazz-rock ensemble complete with a five-piece brass section. that was wilfully uncommercial but musically rewarding. After two albums Mike Hug decided to pursue a career composing soundtracks which notably included Up The Junction.

Meanwhile key members of the 60s Manfred Mann line-ups – Paul Jones, Mike D’Abo, Mike Hugg and Tom McGuinness – have banded together and perform as The Manfreds. Such is the enduring legacy of Manfred Mann over the past 40 years. In 2007, Mike d’Abo became the proud father of twins, Ellie and Louis, and, for this year, he will be taking some time out to spend with his family. The Manfreds ‘Let Em Roll’ tour takes to the road with a new album release….aptly titled ‘Let Em Roll’….and Mike will join the band for a few festival dates throughout the year before re-joining for their highly acclaimed ‘Maximum Rhythm ‘n’ Blues’ UK tour in 2010. Former members Manfred Mann The original keyboard player, whose name was chosen by EMI to be the band's name, although they also became known as the Manfreds. Towards the end of '69 Manfred Mann as a group entity dissolved and the individuals went on to other things as recounted above and below.

Manfred himself formed firstly Chapter Three with Mike Hugg and after the demise of this outfit, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, which continues to this day. Mike Vickers Another original Manfred, Mike played guitar, alto sax and flute but was tempted away in 1965 by the broader allure of arranging, production & film soundtracks. In his time he has worked with Johnny Dankworth, Ella Fitzgerald, Cilla Black, Cliff Richard, The Hollies, Kiki Dee, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. Mike's orchestral arrangement (which he also conducted) for All You Need Is Love for The Beatles' global TV performance is one of the truly memorable events in pop history. He also programmed the Moog for The Beatles' Abbey Road album as well as John Boorman's films Deliverance, Zardoz and The Exorcist II. Mike joined the re-formed Manfreds for a few years on sax, woodwind & flute but is now busy composing contemporary classical music. Dave Richmond The original Manfreds bass player, who Tom McGuinness replaced when it became apparent Dave's jazz leanings didn't sit with the R & B direction the band was moving towards at the time.

After leaving the band in 1963 Dave became a session player, working with amongst others Elton John, Bread, and Hank Marvin. He has also appeared on a soundtrack with Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. Jack Bruce Joined the band in 1965 on the recommendation of an old friend of Mike Hugg & Manfred Mann's, Graham Bond, who Jack had played with at an earlier stage in The Graham Bond Organisation along with John McLaughlin, Ginger Baker and latterly, Dick Heckstall-Smith. (Prior to playing with Graham, Jack had been in Alexis Korner's Blues Inc, with Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones on drums.) When Mike Vickers left the Manfreds, Jack stepped in to fill the gap, leaving John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to do so. His arrival meant that Tom McGuinness could move away from playing bass and back to the instrument he felt more at home with, ie lead guitar. In due course Jack left Manfred Mann to form the legendary Cream with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker.

The band split in 1968 at the height of their popularity and Jack has since recorded numerous solo albums and worked with many different high calibre musicians in a wide variety of genres. Klaus Voorman Friend to The Beatles & designer of the Revolver album cover (for which he won a Grammy), bass player Klaus replaced Jack Bruce in Manfred Mann in 1966. Over the years he recorded with B B King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Harry Nilsson and Carly Simon, as well as working with George Harrison and playing bass with The Plastic Ono Band for John Lennon. After moving to the States he worked with The Band, van Dyke Parks, Ry Cooder, Randy Newman and Dr. John, before briefly moving into production. He has since been involved in various artistic enterprises and also runs a hotel in Northern Germany. Benny Gallagher One half of hitmakers and blue-chip songwriting team, Gallagher & Lyle, Benny began his career as a tunesmith with The Beatles' Apple company. In 1970, along with Tom McGuinness, his (and Graham Lyle's) astute composing ability propelled McGuinness Flint to the top of the charts.

Then came the duo's own hit singles Heart on my Sleeve and I Wanna Stay With You plus the Breakaway album which was a huge success - even more so when the title track was covered by Art Garfunkel. As a Director of The Guild of Record Producers and Recording Engineers, Benny was offered the post of Head of Music at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, but his many commitments meant he had to decline the offer. He's played with Clapton, McCartney and some of the great original Bluesmen such as Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup. Benny writes in Nashville and composes film soundtracks, yet found the time to play bass with The Manfreds for a few years when they re-formed. Manfred Mann — Listen for free on Spotify Manfred Mann Play on Spotify An R&B band that only played pop to get on the charts, Manfred Mann ranked among the most adept British Invasion acts in both styles.

The fact that their range encompassed jazz as well as rhythm & blues, coupled with some elements of their appearance and presentation -- co-founder/keyboardist Manfred Mann's bearded, bespectacled presence -- also made the Manfreds more of a thinking person's band than a cute, cuddly, outfit like the Beatles , or sexual provocateurs in the manner of the Rolling Stones . Yet, their approach to R&B was as valid as that of the Stones , equally compelling and often more sophisticated. They charted an impressive number of singles from 1964 through 1969, and developed a large, loyal international fandom that lingers to this day. South African-born keyboardist Manfred Mann, born Manfred Lubowitz in Johannesburg in 1940, was originally an aspiring jazz player. He performed at dances and local coffee bars in Johannesburg as a teenager, and studied classical music at Witwatersrand University, also playing with Hugh Masekela in a local band. His influences included John Coltrane , Miles Davis , Cannonball Adderley , Ornette Coleman , Bill Evans , and Dave Brubeck .

He felt that his musical growth would be stymied by further work in South Africa, however, and decided to move to England in 1961, making his living as a jazz pianist and teacher, and writing articles under the name Manfred Manne, the surname derived from drummer Shelly Manne -- he later dropped the "e" and used "Manfred Mann" as his performing name. Mann's preference for jazz quickly ran headlong into the growing public taste for rhythm and blues that began sweeping through younger audiences in England during the early '60s. In the course of his playing at the Butlins resort in Clacton during 1962, Mann met percussionist Mike Hugg , and the two soon began playing together in a band that included Graham Bond . Hugg and Mann eventually formed their own band, the Mann Hugg Blues Brothers, which grew into a septet, including two saxmen and a trumpet player. They were successful on the London club scene, playing venues such as the Marquee and other top music spots. The band's membership also grew to include guitarist, flautist, and saxman Mike Vickers .

The group was still lacking a lead singer, but this deficiency was rectified in late 1962 when they added Paul Jones , who had previously worked with guitarist Tom McGuinness, to their lineup. By early 1963, the Mann Hugg Blues Brothers had shrunk back to five members -- Manfred Mann (keyboards), Mike Hugg (percussion), Mike Vickers (guitar, sax, flute), Paul Jones (vocals), and Dave Richmond (bass) -- and also picked up a manager, Kenneth Pitt, who arranged auditions for the group with Pye, Decca, and EMI Records. The EMI audition in May of 1963 was the one that worked, and they were signed to the latter company's HMV label. The band was assigned producer John Burgess , who was intrigued by the mix of jazz and R&B in their style. It was also Burgess who decided that the group needed a shorter, punchier name and -- against the wishes of the keyboardist himself -- chose Manfred Mann as the band's name.

Paul Jones was one of the best British Invasion singers, and his resonant vocals were the best feature of Manfred Mann's early R&B sides, which had a slightly jazzier and smoother touch than the early work of the Rolling Stones and the Animals . The group's debut single, "Why Should We Not" b/w "Brother Jack," were drawn from their first EMI commercial recording audition, and showed a bit of what the band could do instrumentally -- the A-side was a moody, bluesy original that alternately featured Vickers' sax, Jones ' harmonica, and Mann's organ, while the flip was a bouncy jazz variant on "Frere Jacques." If the group's debut showed the Manfreds' virtuosity and cleverness, then the blues-rock follow-up "Cock-A Hoop" heralded the arrival of a major and charismatic singing talent in Paul Jones . Despite a lot of radio play, "Cock-A Hoop" failed to chart. The group's luck changed late in 1963, however, when they were asked to write a new theme song for the British television rock & roll showcase Ready, Steady, Go.

The result was "5-4-3-2-1," a catchy, pulsing piece of rock & roll that got to number five on the British charts and became the permanent signature tune for the television series. Shortly after the single was recorded, Dave Richmond exited Manfred Mann's lineup and was replaced by Tom McGuinness, who switched from guitar to bass to join the group. The chart success of "5-4-3-2-1" and its use on Ready! Steady! Go! gave the band a secure commercial berth in England, and their two follow-up singles charted easily. It was a couple covers of obscure girl group songs, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" ( the Exciters ) and "Sha La La" ( the Shirelles ), that broke the group internationally -- "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" reached number one in the States, and "Sha La La" just missed the Top Ten. The Paul Jones lineup never duplicated this success, although "Come Tomorrow" and "Pretty Flamingo" were smaller hits.

From 1964 to 1966, they took the approach of playing gutsy pop/rock on their singles (including the original version of "My Little Red Book") and soul and R&B on their albums, with occasional detours into jazz, Dylan (their cover of his then-unreleased "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" was a big British hit), and competent original material. This sharp difference in the content of their singles and albums resulted in a split in their audience, and occasional confusion on the part of fans, who bought Manfred Mann's albums expecting to hear songs like "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," and, instead, found blues and jazz numbers represented much more than pop-rock. Listeners who paid close attention to "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" might've recognized unusual touches such as the kettle drums over the choruses, and anyone who flipped it over might've gotten the hint from its B-side, a jazz-blues jam called "What You Gonna Do?" An organ and harmonica-driven piece, it was as hard and threatening as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" was upbeat and cheerful.

Where "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and the later "Sha La La La" were covers of girl group songs, Manfred Mann's debut long-player, cut in early 1964, had a very different orientation, comprised of songs associated with Cannonball Adderley , Ike & Tina Turner , Muddy Waters , Willie Dixon , and Howlin' Wolf , among others, and hard, bluesy originals such as the Mann- Jones authored "What Are You Gonna Do." Still, driven by their reputation and some superb R&B singing by Paul Jones -- who was a genuine rival to Mick Jagger in those days -- the group's debut LP, The Five Faces of Manfred Mann made it all the way to number three on the British album chart. The group did seem to make the leap from a single to and album act -- their EMI LPs and EPs all sold well, charting high despite the fact that the sound on them wasn't quite like any other British Invasion act. Manfred Mann played blues-based rock, but in contrast to most of the other British bands of the era, the guitar didn't always figure prominently in their sound.

Mike Vickers was as likely to be playing a sax (and he really played, rather than just honking along in the manner of rock saxmen of the period such as Dennis Payton of the Dave Clark Five ), or even a flute as an electric guitar; and Mike Hugg also played the vibraphone, an instrument usually far removed from rock & roll. Yet despite the fact that these guys had obviously all studied music, they made a hard and heavy R&B sound, and flexed their musical muscles accordingly -- check out Vickers' guitar break on their version of Willie Dixon 's "Hoochie Coochie Man," or Mann's pounding piano on Muddy Waters ' "Got My Mojo Working." What's more, they could write credibly -- not hits in the manner of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards , but album tracks like "I'm Your Kingpin," "Without You," and "Don't Ask Me What I Say" held up very nicely alongside the Howlin' Wolf , Muddy Waters , and Bo Diddley repertory on the album.

One quirk in the group's history was their virtual absence from America, apart from a three-week tour late in 1964, despite their charting four singles (including the number one "Do Wah Diddy Diddy") in the U.S. during 1964-66. The band found America, with its vast distances as well as its distance from England, too wearying a market to deal with for the money being offered, and concentrated instead on Europe. They opened several important doors by touring such Eastern Bloc countries as Czechoslovakia, in a time when American and western European rock & roll was usually considered a prime manifestation of capitalist decadence. Despite their popularity and a steady stream of successful singles, EPs, and LPs, all wasn't well within the quintet. Each member of the group got to express himself, at least on their EP and album tracks, but by 1965 there was a sense that Vickers, Jones , McGuinness, and Hugg were all becoming known simply as "Manfred Mann," especially on their singles.

None of that would have been so bad if the sound on those singles had represented anything other than the group's most commercial manifestation, and Manfred Mann hadn't also been the name of a walking, breathing bandmate -- though Mann himself had never wanted the group to use his name. Mike Vickers , who'd always desired to expand his talents into work as a composer and arranger, exited in late 1965 -- his later credits, in addition to work on soundtracks and other instrumental material, also included producing and arranging songs for the Zombies and Gentle Giant , among other bands. His announcement was the crack in the wall that allowed Paul Jones -- who had been getting a vast amount of attention anyway (if awkwardly) as the lead singer of Manfred Mann -- to announce his departure in pursuit of careers as a solo performer and actor, although he stayed with the group well into 1966. The core of the band, consisting of Mann, McGuinness, and Hugg , soon picked up Jack Bruce , then in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers , on bass, which allowed Tom McGuinness to return to playing guitar. A saxman and trumpet player also came into the lineup around this time.

A car accident early in 1966 left Jones sidelined for an extended period, which resulted in the group recording a large number of instrumental numbers, several of which -- including jazzy covers of "Satisfaction," "I Got You Babe," and "Still I'm Sad" -- appeared on the EP Instrumental Asylum. Despite all of its internal problems, the band generated yet another worldwide hit single in "Pretty Flamingo," which reached the number one spot in England and made the Top 30 in America, despite the group's not touring there to promote it. Even this record, and a number one charting EP in England (Machines) failed to stabilize the band's situation -- in the wake of "Pretty Flamingo" in the spring of 1966, Jack Bruce exited the group to join a new kind of rock-blues trio with Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton , to be called Cream . To top matters off, May of 1966 marked the end of the contract that the band had signed with EMI.

The label evidently had sufficient doubts about the group's ability to continue, that it hedged its bets by signing Paul Jones as a solo act and, despite a pair of chart-toppers to their credit that year, let Manfred Mann go. Mann and Hugg , as the original co-founders of the band, weren't going to let it disappear, however -- with McGuinness, they still comprised the core of a group, and they surprised a lot of onlookers (and, no doubt, their former label) by forming a new lineup around singer Mike D'Abo. Beatles ' friend Klaus Voormann, late of Paddy, Klaus & Gibson also joined in this aggregation on bass. As a backdrop to all of this maneuvering, Mike Hugg suddenly emerged as a successful songwriter in his own right when the Yardbirds , with whom the Manfreds had previously toured, covered "You're a Better Man Than I," a song he'd written in collaboration with his brother Brian Hugg.

Ironically, the Manfreds of this period didn't get around to covering the song themselves, which was probably just as well, as the Yardbirds ' version, cut at Sun Records in Memphis with legendary producer Sam Philips running the session, became an instant classic and remained in the group's repertory for years. It wouldn't be the last song that members of the Manfreds would provide to the Yardbirds , but it was the best. Manfred Mann signed with Fontana Records, an English off-shoot of the Holland-based Philips label (best known as the home of the Merseybeats and Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders ), in June of 1966. At various times over the next year, EMI would release EPs and LPs of older material by the original band that competed with their new recordings. The advent of a new contract with a new Manfred Mann lineup essentially opened a new, separate phase ("Chapter Two") in the band's career, similar to the post-blues era of Fleetwood Mac .

Mike D'Abo, though a good singer, lacked Paul Jones ' depth and power, and the group compensated with an approach that was more pop than blues oriented, although at first the differences were very subtle. The new lineup's first single, a cover of Dylan 's "Just Like a Woman," became a Top Ten hit in England during the summer of the 1966, establishing the new lineup's commercial credibility. The big change came with their next single, "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James," a song written by Geoff Stevens of the New Vaudeville Band -- a novelty song that marked a major departure for the group, it made number two in England and began the reshaping the band's sound and image. A new album, As Is, followed in October of 1966. It had a cut or two that harked back to their R&B days, as well as the two hit singles, but As Is also contained a fair amount of psychedelic and experimental conceptual music, including the prominent use of an instrument new to their sound -- a Mellotron -- and a solo acoustic guitar piece by Voorman, as well as one track, "Another Kind of Music," that mixed pop and operatic-style choruses.

The group returned to its jazz roots momentarily for an EP, Instrumental Assassination, consisting of instrumental tracks, similar to the earlier Instrumental Asylum on EMI. The group also hit in the spring of 1967 with "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown," a Tony Hazzard song that also got picked up by the Yardbirds in the final phase of their history. During this same period, Mann and Hugg linked up as songwriters and emerged as successful in the field of commercials and, to a lesser degree, soundtracks. Their pop-oriented approach to their singles, with occasional forays into psychedelic and progressive rock, yielded a string of Top Ten hits in England through 1969, although the only one to hit the jackpot in the U.S. was their cover of a then-unreleased Dylan song, "The Mighty Quinn." Mann dissolved the D'Abo lineup in 1969 to form Manfred Mann Chapter Three -- drummer Mike Hugg , who had been in the band since the beginning, took over on piano and vocals, and as principal songwriter, while Mann played the organ and arranged the music.

The outfit's early jazz-rock efforts were interesting, but not very popular, and Manfred steered the ship back toward mainstream rock by forming yet another incarnation, Manfred Mann's Earth Band , with Mick Rogers on vocals and guitar. The heavier, more synthesizer-oriented outfit made quite a few albums in the 1970s. Mann also found time for various outside projects, including producing Lo and Behold, an album of Dylan songs that the songwriter had never recorded officially -- and, in that regard, something of an off-shoot of one element of Manfred Mann's history -- cut by Tom McGuinness' then current group, McGuinness Flint , which also included instrumental contributions by Mike Hugg . The 1976 Earth Band album The Roaring Silence, featuring singer/guitarist Chris Thompson on lead vocals, made the Top Ten, and included the number one hit "Blinded by the Light," a milestone of sorts for Bruce Springsteen as a songwriter, whose work Mann had discovered three years earlier.

Mann also made the Top 40 with another Springsteen cover, "Spirit in the Night." The Earth Band , in various configurations and working on different styles, with interruptions (especially by Mann's efforts at solo music), has endured for more than two decades since their last chart hit, finding success in the concert arena when their studio work ceased to catch the public's imagination. Ironically, despite Mann's oft-proclaimed preferences for serious explorations of jazz, blues, and progressive music, it's his pop/rock recordings that hold up best, and for which he'll be remembered most. The continuing power of that music was illustrated in 1992, when the release of a television-marketed compilation of EMI and Fontana tracks called The Ages of Mann precipitated a reunion of Mike D'Abo and Paul Jones with McGuinness, Hugg , and Vickers, for a tour under the guise of "the Manfreds". Manfred Mann himself, although still heavily involved with his own current projects and never a part of "the Manfreds," participated in some radio appearances by the re-formed group. The Manfreds reunited twice more over the next two years, for tours or Europe and a brief foray into America.

~ Bruce Eder & Richie Unterberger, Rovi Read More Show less

Question: Who had a hit in 1966 with 'Pretty Flamingo'?
Answer: MANFRED MANN